Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Favorite Photo: Cliffs of Moher

When going to Ireland, one must see the Cliffs of Moher (pronounced More), if for nothing else then to recite random quotes from The Princess Bride (Cliffs of Insanity= Cliffs of Moher ). Inconceivable! We took a bus from Dublin to Galway, encountered the one and only cranky person in all of Ireland, walked up and down the same street 5 times looking for another bus, and sped along rocky narrow country roads to the cliffs while the bus driver whistled and hummed. What captured my heart in Ireland was that there was always, always music somewhere. Whether it was from pubs with their doors open, or the street performers on every corner, or the museum guard at the National Museum quieting singing “Foggy Dew.” Music is definitely the language of the Irish, it felt like home.

But back to the Cliffs. You see them in movies and in books and think, Oh, those are pretty, and go about your life. But when you see them, and set foot on them, your breath is sucked out of you. They are peaceful and powerful all at the same time, kind of what I inspire to be. The path along the edge is lined with people and their cameras hoping to get the perfect shot to remember that day and show off to family and friends. I was one of the those souls, clicking my camera buttons as fast as I could, then I came across this chap sitting and writing. I quietly tucked my camera back into my bag and too sat down on the greenest grass I have ever seen and just took in the wonder around me. We spend our lifetimes and bank accounts building skyscrapers, monuments and other tall and mighty things and Mother Nature shows us up every time.